Bill would prohibit discrimination against unemployed in hiring

Sat, 01/07/2012 - 01:00 EDT - LA Times

The proposed legislation would fine California employers or employment agencies that refuse to consider out-of-work applicants for openings.Even though the labor market is improving, thousands of unemployed Californians are caught in a bind: Some employers only want to hire them if they already have a job.

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NEW DELHI: Hiring a driver can be a hitand-miss affair, sometimes literally so. However, the National Career Service (NCS) unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week aims to turn the employment of such workers — domestic help, caretakers, plumbers, electricians — into less of a gamble on both sides. More importantly, it could evolve into one of the world's biggest employment portals if the government is able to put the ambitious thinking behind the plan into effect.

I UNDERSTAND what Ed Lazear is saying here, but the point seems somewhat overstated:Why don't American workers feel that the labor market is on the mend? After all, the May 6 jobs report could suggest that the labor market is improving. Nonfarm employment rose by 244,000 and employment growth over the last three months is averaging over 200,000 per month. With unemployment at 9%, employment is still down many millions from where it should be, but up from its recession lows...

An Edmonton woman who says she’s being discriminated against because she has 22 visible piercings is reigniting the debate about workplace dress codes.
Kendra Behringer, 24, complained that one prospective employer threw out her résumé in front of her, but lawyers believe her chances of establishing discrimination are slim to non-existent, while employment and image experts say businesses are entitled to set rules on how workers dress.

OTTAWA — More details have emerged about new measures to improve Canada’s temporary foreign worker program.
The federal government indicated Wednesday that employers are now required to advertise positions in Canada for at least four weeks, instead of two, before they can apply to hire foreigners.

OTTAWA — An eight-year bid to include transgender rights in Canadian anti-discrimination and hate laws is likely to suffer another legislative setback, despite support from a majority in both chambers of Parliament.
The proposed legislation appeared poised to pass the Senate but did not make it to a final vote before the summer recess began last week.